Friday, February 15, 2013

Today we have our Author Feature called How Do I Do What I Do. This is a feature where authors can chat about well basically anything about writing. I love these features. Today we have author Kim Smith with us to chat about writing.

Writing: How I Do What I Do

I would hate for readers to think writing a novel is a simple task. It isn't.

It
is one of the toughest things I have ever had to do. I mean,
it requires a devotion of your time. Long chunks of it. It requires a
huge bit of your mind, and I do mean HUGE. You cannot sit down to write
without having time to do it properly and you absolutely need to be in
the mindset to create. That's the first bit of advice I would give to
you, dear friend. Get in the mindset, and sit down and don't get back up
until you have begun a work that is worthy of carrying your name. Oh
yeah. That is a little important too. When I do what I do, I want
something to be worthy of having my name on the cover. I want to be
proud of what I have done. But that is only if you are writing to be
published, and in today's world of indie publishing, who isn't? That's
another thing: why not publish? Well, for one thing, it may be something
that isn't ready yet. Or it could be a private manifesto that really
has no mass market value. That isn't to say that it is wrong to write
the story of your heart, but only that not everyone will
be interested in reading it.

I
do begin my stories with a hook. Sort of how I began this article.
Something that drags the reader into the story and keeps them there.
Hooks are easy. We are hooked on every show on television. They have to
hook us or else they wouldn't get our viewership.

I
also use
plot turns, those things that make a story go off on a new and
different *and I hope exciting!* direction. And then I rev up that turn
with clinchers. Those are the items that get the reader to turn the page
a little faster. All of these items send them off into Readerland,
happy and interested, all the way up to the end. That is where my story
comes to its final conclusion, and I hope where I tie up all those
questions my readers have had for so many pages.

And I write a lot of genres. Fantasy, romance, mystery. All can be written using this path.

My method is certainly not new, nor is it innovative, but it is effective.

thanks, Ali for having me today.

Kim

Kim Smith
is the author of the YA fantasy time travel, A Mirror in Time out now
for Kindle and in paperback at Amazon. You can find her online athttp://www.writingspace.blogspot.com

Thanks
so much for chatting with us today about writing Kim and for this great
post. If you are an author and would like to be featured here on
Ali's Bookshelf through an Author Feature: CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP!